Fallen Star
by Aiookami-chan
Summary: ...I heard a yell from behind me. Surprised, I turned and saw the young woman standing with a bow in her hands and an arrow aimed straight at my heart..."
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, nor will I ever. There, I've fullfilled my legal obligations, so I'm not going to say it again in later chapters.

Fallen Star  
Prologue  
by Jessa

Pitch black. That's all there was. There was no up, no down, no concept of time or motion. The only thing that existed besides the blackness was a single consciousness.

And that consciousness was bored.

Amid the emptiness of infinity, the consciousness had contemplated what it would do if freed from the void, for it had not always been there. It recalled light and grassy fields and cold swims in rivers on hot days. It remembered laughing at the antics of a companion and friend, and sorrow over the loss of a loved one.

Deep anguish blossomed as the consciousness reflected on its memories. An image formed itself; a girl, with hair the color of a raven's wing and eyes the shade of a dark, stormy sky. Her manner of dress was indecently abbreviated, and she held a bow and arrow, prepared to shoot.

Anguish flared into anger and hatred for this girl who had, seemingly effortlessly, banished the consciousness to the blackness, forever.

Now, if only there was a way back...


	2. Chapter 1: A Crack in the Dark

Fallen Star  
by Jessa

Chapter 1: A crack in the dark.

Higurashi Kagome jerked awake. That dream again. She sat up, knowing from past experience that she would get no more sleep that night. Fortunately, the sky was beginning to lighten from velvet black to a silky blue-gray. She looked around the fire at her companions; Sango, stretched out on her blanket, with Shippou and Kirara curled up together near her head. Miroku, sprawled on the opposite side of the fire from Sango, where he'd fallen after his most recent attempt to grope the demon slayer and her subsequent swipe to his head with her boomerang. Kagome couldn't hold back a smile when she saw he still had the lump Sango's attack had raised.

Her gaze fell next on the last member of the group. He sat propped against a boulder, head down, eyes closed. The white dog ears perched atop his head drooped a bit; he was obviously asleep. Long, silver-white hair cascaded over his shoulders like a moonlit waterfall. Even in sleep, he held Tetsusaiga's hilt in his hand, ready to defend the small group.

He acts tough, Kagome mused, but that's because he's had to. Deep inside, he's really a nice guy. Cute, too. She blushed. Kami-sama! Did I just think that!?

The subject of her contemplations opened golden-yellow eyes to find the slate gray ones of Kagome's staring at him. A typical response slipped out.

"What!?"

Kagome blinked and shook her head as if to clear it. "Hmm?"

"What are you staring at me for?"

"Oh, ah, nothing, nothing. I just can't sleep, that's all. And I wasn't staring at you. I was thinking," she replied, the last a bit indignant.

"Thinking, ne? First time for everything, I guess," Inuyasha retorted...and threw up his hand just in time to avoid being brained by Kagome's hard-thrown shoe. He caught it as it fell and tossed it back to Kagome. "Baka. You'd better keep that. You'll need it."

He stood up and sniffed the air. As he sniffed a second time, his ears flattened themselves to his head. Kagome noticed and asked, "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha shook his head and managed to straighten his ears again. "There's something evil on the wind tonight. We'd better be careful."

"Is it Naraku?"

"No, this is something else. It almost smells familiar, but I can't place it. Naraku has nothing to do with it, this time."

"So what else is bothering you, Inuyasha?"

"What makes you think something's bothering me?"

"..." Kagome just stared at the hanyou with a bored expression on her face.

"All right, all right. I just think Sesshoumaru came through here recently."

"How recently?" Kagome asked.

"Did I hear someone say 'Sesshoumaru'?" Miroku asked groggily, sitting up cross-legged and rubbing the lump on his head.

"Yeah, houshi. I said Sesshoumaru came through here recently. Probably within the last day or two. His scent is faint and mixed with that smell of evil on the wind, but still fairly fresh." He sniffed again. "It almost smells like the evil is following him," Inuyasha commented with an odd half-grin.

:o:o:o:o:o:o:

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Look what Rin found!" The little, dark-haired human child bounded up to the youkai lord, something pale and shining clutched in her small hands. "Pretty!" she exclaimed, offering her prize up for inspection.

Sesshoumaru took the bauble from the child, who was beaming with pride. It turned out to be a milky-white stone, about the size of his fist, shaped like an eight-pointed star. As he turned the stone over in his hands, he noticed it seemed to glow with its own inner light. "Interesting," he commented, making the girl smile bigger, if that was possible. "Where did you find it?"

Rin bounced as she said, "Rin will show Sesshoumaru-sama!" Then she dashed off into the forest, unerringly finding her way back to the spot where she'd picked up the star-stone.

As they approached its former resting place, the stone in Sesshoumaru's hand glowed brighter, becoming a little bit warm to the touch. Suddenly, Sesshoumaru found himself in a small clearing in the forest. A strange aura surrounded the place. For some reason he could not fathom, an exquisitely carved statue stood dead-center in the clearing. It was a beautiful youkai woman with an arrow sticking out of her heart. Her hands were outstretched together, palms up, as if she'd held something out in them. The statue was so lifelike that it looked like it could move on its own at any moment.

Rin was looking around the base of the statue, trying to remember exactly where she'd picked the star-stone up from. When she found the spot, she gave a cry. "Here, Sesshoumaru-sama! Rin found the pretty star here!" the child pointed to a spot in the grass about six inches ahead and to the right of the statue's outstretched hands.

Drawing closer, Sesshoumaru saw a faint outline in the statue's palms. Perhaps she did indeed hold something in the past. There was an intense burning sensation in the hand that held the stone. He dropped it-and it hovered in the air for a moment before flying the short distance to the statue's hands and settling into them.

For a moment, nothing happened. Rin clutched Sesshoumaru's right leg, staring with eyes as big as pie plates, as a huge clap of thunder sounded across the land. The star-stone pulsed with an intense white light in the statue's hands, as if signaling someone or something.

The air around Sesshoumaru crackled, alive with static electricity. He picked up Rin quickly and jumped away from the statue just as an enormous bolt of lightning struck it.


	3. Chapter 2: Okay, what just happened here...

Author's Note: I believe Fluffy's a bit out of character in this chapter, but I don't know how much. I'm trying to get it right, but it's hard since I've just started writing with these characters. Also, I'm sorry if I use any Japanese words incorrectly. I speak very little of the language, although I'm trying to learn it little by little. Corrections are always welcome, as is feedback.

Fallen Star  
by Jessa

The consciousness contemplated the white crack in the void. Where would the crack take it if it were to go through? Should it take the chance? The consciousness drifted towards the crack. It sensed trees and grass and decided that the risks were worth leaving this blackness behind.

The consciousness drifted even closer to the crack. As it was sucked through, the consciousness sensed another presence; a demon. Perhaps this crack would take the consciousness home after all...

Chapter 2: Okay, what just happened here?

A sudden, deafening clap of thunder woke all members of the group who weren't already awake. Immediately upon waking, Kirara had transformed into her large demon form and was looking very threatening.

Kagome looked up to see a perfectly clear sky. There were a couple of fluffy clouds floating high up, but nothing to suggest a storm or to indicate where the thunder had come from.

Then a bright, purple-white bolt of lightning struck the forest to the west of them. Shippou leaped into Kagome's arms, his hair standing on end and his tail spiky with fear.

"Kagomeeeeee!" he squealed.

The kitsune's fear was understandable, since the last time purple lightning had struck this forest, a female inu-youkai had appeared and nearly killed the group before Kagome had managed to shoot an arrow into her heart, sealing her soul away.

A wave of dread washed over Kagome.

"I-Inuyasha? Did that lightning just strike where I think it did?"

"What the hell are you talking about, wench? It struck over..." Inuyasha trailed off as he realize where the lightning had struck. "Kuso!" he swore. "We could be in serious trouble if she comes back."

"We need to find out what just happened," Miroku said.

The group immediately set about breaking camp.

"I'm going ahead," Inuyasha said, turning and leaping off into the trees.

"Wait, Inuyasha! I'm coming too!" Kagome yelled after his retreating form and ran after him after stopping to pick up her bow and quiver of arrows.

:o:o:o:o:o:

Sesshoumaru set Rin down behind a boulder and told the frightened child to stay there. He then proceeded back to the clearing. Before he got there, he smelled the scent of another inu-youkai. _Female_, he thought, _so it's not Inuyasha. Although he is approaching._

The statue in the clearing was no longer a statue. The woman was looking around, joy written all over her features. She caught Sesshoumaru's scent and whirled to face him, her blue-white hair flying with the motion.

Her dark golden eyes lit upon seeing him and suddenly she was a blur of motion. She ran straight at Sesshoumaru, who tensed for an attack. He couldn't sense any harmful intent on her part, so he refrained from killing her for the time being. After all, being female, how much damage could she do to him if she decided to attack?

She hit him at a full run and wrapped her arms around his torso in a near- crippling hug. Her expression was that of a child who had just been given the world's best gift.

"Oh it's so good to see another person!" she exclaimed when she finally let go of the stunned, speechless, and slightly embarrassed Sesshoumaru. She immediately began babbling, something about being locked in darkness.

The youkai lord took a moment to assess this, in his opinion, 'pitiful excuse for an inu-youkai.' Her hair fell to her knees and was an almost metallic blue-white color. She had large, expressive eyes many shades darker than Sesshoumaru's own, so dark they almost looked bronze.

Her facial markings were similar to his own. She had two dark purple stripes running horizontally below her eyes across each cheek, though her forehead marking was a silver, eight-pointed star.

Unlike most youkai, she was not tall; the top of her head barely came up to his shoulders. He reminded himself not to underestimate this woman because of her size. Her small, delicate-looking frame belied powerful muscles, as he'd found out when she'd hugged him.

She wore a dark blue kimono with a pattern of pink sakura blossoms scattered over the bottom part of it and zori. The blue in the kimono seemed to shift shades depending upon how the demoness moved.

She was still babbling.

"Cease your endless prattling, wench. I, Sesshoumaru, command it." He was feeling the beginnings of a headache.

"Sesshoumaru? The lord of the Western Lands," she stated. "I thought I recognized your scent. And your markings give you away, as well."

"Sesshoumaru! I should've known. Only you would be stupid enough to bring that bitch back from the dead." A voice sounded from a tree branch off to the left. Sesshoumaru traced the sound back to its owner.

"Inuyasha. Here all by yourself? Surely, then, you are not here to face me. Where is your miko wench?" Sesshoumaru asked, noting the effects his words were having in the hanyou. He also noticed that the woman had disappeared.

"Damn you, Sesshoumaru! I don't need help to deal with you!" Inuyasha leaped off his tree branch, pulled Tetsusaiga from its saya, and was all set to attack when a single word rang out.

"Osuwari!"

The beads around Inuyasha's neck glowed and pulled him down to smack face-first into the dirt, leaving an Inuyasha-shaped depression about a foot deep. When he could get back up, he shot Kagome a withering glare. "Oi, wench, what was that for?"

"We're not here for Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha. We came to see if the demon I sealed away has come back. Obviously," Kagome said, looking around the clearing and seeing nothing but grass, trees, and Inuyasha, "she has. And Sesshoumaru obviously wasn't interested in a confrontation, either. He's gone."

"He's probably following that bitch, wherever she got off to. He's the one that brought her back. I just can't figure out how. Or why. Sesshoumaru's not one to take pity on anything, so why the hell would he bring her back?" Inuyasha swiped at a tree with his claws, splinters of wood flying from the four six-inch-deep gouges.

"Calm down, Inuyasha. We'll wait for the others, then see if we can track your brother and that demoness."

:o:o:o:o:o:

As soon as Sesshoumaru noticed that the female youkai was gone, he took off after her. Fortunately, that miko wench of his half-brother's had provided an adequate and timely distraction for Inuyasha. The taiyoukai reminded himself not to kill the girl outright and their next meeting.

He was caught up in his thoughts when a blue blur slammed into him, catching him off guard and knocking him to the forest floor.

"Why are you following me?" she growled, her claws at his throat.

"You are in my lands, and Inuyasha seems particularly interested in your demise. I am merely curious as to why," he calmly stated.

"Oh. Is that all?" She stood up and dusted off her hands and kimono. "I'm Hoshi, by the way. I'm in your lands because I was looking for the demon who murdered my brother. And the hanyou is 'particularly interested in my demise', to use your words, because I tried to kill him."


	4. Chapter 3: Revelations

Fallen Star  
by Jessa  
Chapter 3: Revelations.

"Tried to kill him? Any demon with half a mind to could kill Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru snorted.

"So why isn't he dead yet?" Hoshi countered. "He couldn't possibly be _that_ lucky. Maybe he's stronger than you want to believe."

Sesshoumaru glared at the woman before him. How dare she, youkai or not, lecture him on what he wanted to believe. She was more irritating than Rin in one of her 'pick on Jaken' moods.

Speaking of the child, she needed to be taken to safety. Sesshoumaru turned and headed off in the direction of the boulder where he'd left his young ward.

Hoshi wondered idly if she'd said something she shouldn't have. _Not like I care_, she thought. _His opinion of me hardly matters._ She was beginning to head off in a different direction when the taiyoukai spoke again.

"Come with me." It didn't sound like a request.

Hoshi sighed and followed the demon lord.

:o:o:o:o:o:

"What do you mean, 'stop'? I thought you wanted to catch that woman, Kagome," Inuyasha griped, but he stopped.

The human members of the group promptly sat on the ground and tried to catch their breath. Kagome gasped a few times and answered, "Yes, Inu _gasp_ yasha. _gasp_ I want to catch _gasp_ her, but _gasp _I don't want _gasp_ to die in the process. _gasp_ Not everyone here has gasp demon blood, you know." The hanyou had been leading the group at an inhuman pace after his half-brother and the youkai woman.

"We've only been after them for an hour. Now you want to stop. I suppose you want to take a nap and have breakfast, too?"

"Inuyasha?" Kagome said sweetly, finally having caught that elusive breath of hers.

The hanyou gulped audibly and said, "Ka-Kagome?" His voice cracked.

"Osuwari!"

:o:o:o:o:o:

"So where are we going?" Hoshi asked.

Sesshoumaru repressed the urge to growl at her. "For the twelfth time, wench, we are going to my home. And if you ask again, I will kill you." At least she hadn't been babbling the whole time they'd been traveling. He might've killed her already if she had.

The woman was a mystery to him. On one hand, she was lighthearted and bubbly, almost a ditz, while on the other, she was as cold and calculating as himself. She would vary between extremes, one moment being loud, talkative, and obnoxious, the next, silent and withdrawn, with an expression saying 'don't mess with me' loud and clear.

Rin had taken to Hoshi immediately, much to Sesshoumaru's consternation. To make matters worse, Hoshi had pronounced the little girl 'adorable' as soon as she saw Rin, and was now getting the low-down on life in Sesshoumaru's castle from the child's point of view.

Sesshoumaru sensed a question coming from the woman, and posed one of his own before she could ask. "Why did you attempt to kill Inuyasha? I am certain he was not the one who murdered your brother."

Hoshi set her question aside for the moment. "No, he didn't kill my brother. Some jerk called Ma... no, that's not it... Ba... not that either...Na...yeah, Na...something did that. Inuyasha killed a friend of mine. Fifty-odd years ago. I hunted him down then, but by the time I found him, he was sealed to a tree. Dead, for all intents and purposes. Then, a couple of years ago I guess it was, I heard that he was back. Naturally, I hunted him down again."

_Flashback_

I ran across a grassy field in the direction my nose told me my quarry lay. My clothes, at the moment, were loose and didn't restrict my movements, although when I stopped moving so quickly, they would revert back to a traditional kimono.

The hanyou's scent floated to me on the slight breeze. He was close, just ahead in the forest. He was not alone, however, as I'd hoped he would be. Three ningen and two youkai were in the hanyou's immediate vicinity. I did not particularly want to kill the others, but would have to since they would more than likely try to protect the hanyou.

Well, I should be able to take them all. I was an inu-youkai, after all, and the new heir to the Northern Lands since that awful shapeshifter had murdered my brother. The others should be no problem since I was now close enough to tell that the group was comprised of the hanyou, a male ningen and two females, a fire-neko youkai, and a kitsune child.

I was getting close enough that the hanyou would be able to smell me, despite the fact that I was downwind. I quickly chanted a spell that I'd learned from my late brother, conjuring up an enormous purple bolt of lightning as a distraction.

I swept in just after the lightning struck, claws extended and swinging. A blow to the head knocked the kitsune out, and a couple of well-placed swipes took the man out of the fight, injured but not dead. That left the two women, the neko, and the hanyou.

With my left hand, I grabbed the throat of the nearest woman, who was also the more imminent threat, judging by the large boomerang she carried. The neko launched itself at me, fearsome in its rage. But I was inu-youkai, and I would not be daunted by a mere fire-neko. With my right hand, I struck it a square blow on the ribcage as I pivoted out of the neko's attack vector. Since the woman I was choking had stopped struggling, I dropped her and finished off my opponent with a stunning blow just behind the ear, knocking the neko unconscious. Then I turned to the second woman.

The hanyou had finally realized what was going on and drew his sword. He stood protectively in front of the remaining human.

"Kagome, run!" he shouted.

The woman didn't get very far before I slashed her back open, the force of my blow spinning her around to face me as she fell.

I left her there and finally turned my full attention to the hanyou. I knew I was faster than he, but from the look in his eyes, I knew I'd only get to make one mistake. His eyes told me I'd die if I messed up.

I didn't doubt him. The second woman I'd taken out must've been his mate, or something equally special. I wished the hanyou hadn't killed my close friend. Then I wouldn't be obligated to kill him for vengeance. I wished I hadn't had to kill his mate. But, if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.

I heard a yell from behind me. Surprised, I turned and saw the young woman standing with a bow in her hands and an arrow aimed straight at my heart. "Sayonara," she said, her raven black hair billowing around her head and her stormy gray eyes flashing. Then she loosed the arrow.

_End Flashback_

Hoshi sighed as she finished her story. "Now that I've answered your question, will you answer one of mine?"

"Perhaps," Sesshoumaru said, deep in thought. "Ask, and we will see."

"Okay." Hoshi seemed to gather her confidence around her, then asked, "Sesshoumaru-sama, are you always this stuffy?"


	5. Chapter 4: Strange Reactions

Fallen Star  
by Jessa

Chapter 4: Strange reactions.

Sesshoumaru halted and turned to the youkai woman in mid-stride. Had she just asked what he thought she had? She must be either intensely courageous or immensely stupid. _Maybe both_, he thought.

Rin saw the expression on her caretaker's face and hid behind Hoshi, peeking out from behind the woman's kimono. To her credit, Hoshi did not cower in fear or even back away. In fact, she pulled herself up and stood even taller, as if daring Sesshoumaru to do something.

"Well...?" she asked when it was clear that no answer was forthcoming, her eyes glittering with amusement.

_How do I answer this one? If I don't answer, she'll just keep asking until I do. I don't think she would stop if I threatened to kill her. I'm not even sure the wench would stop asking if I _did_ kill her._ The image of Hoshi's dead body still asking him if he was always 'stuffy' flashed through his mind, causing an expression of near-panic to cross his otherwise impassive features.

Hoshi could hardly manage to keep a straight face. _Well_, she thought, _I think I have my answer. Now if he will say it._ "Are you going to answer me or not, Sesshoumaru?" she asked, advancing on him, a very intent and curious expression on her face.

_The woman is relentless_. "No," he said finally.

"No, what? No, you're not going to answer me, or no, you're not always stuffy?" she asked, exasperated.

"Exactly," he responded enigmatically. He was glad that she hadn't been yelling. Otherwise, as close as she had gotten to him, his sensitive ears would be ringing.

Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, then finally the audio kicked in. "Why, you..." She raised her right hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist before the blow could land. She tried again with her other hand, with the same results. "Let me go," she demanded.

"So you can slap me? I think not." His voice was low and husky, strangely seductive. Something about her suddenly aggressive behavior was having an adverse effect on him. Her proximity and scent weren't helping either.

Hoshi glanced up into the taiyoukai's face and immediately stopped trying to pull her hands from his grasp. Her nose picked up a change in his scent and her eyes widened. _Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him about the question. I think he's gone off the deep end._

He suddenly released her and walked away. "Follow me," was all he said.

:o:o:o:o:o:

"He's going to his castle. I'm not going there unless I have to."

"Why?" Shippou asked. "What's the matter, Inuyasha? Scared?" The kitsune morphed into a large chicken and started clucking and laughing at the hanyou. Inuyasha kept his cool for all of a second, then began pummeling the kit, who squawked in pain and tried to run to safety.

"Inuyasha, leave him alone," Kagome ordered, looking up from the ramen she was making.

"Why? He deserves what he's getting," Inuyasha growled and continued hitting the smaller youkai.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome was getting irritated now, and her tone was turning dangerous.

"Fine." The hanyou released the kit and stalked off, muttering something about insensitive shard detectors and annoying kitsunes.

Kagome was getting worried when the sun went down and Inuyasha still had not returned.

"Relax, Kagome-sama. He's probably out sulking somewhere," Miroku tried to calm the young woman. "And besides, Inuyasha's a demon. He can take care of himself."

Kagome glanced up at the starlit but moonless sky. "That's what I'm afraid of, Miroku-sama. He's not demon tonight."

:o:o:o:o:o:

The sun was beginning to go down when Inuyasha started back for the camp. Tonight was shingetsu, the night of the new moon. His youkai blood had been waning all day, accounting for the difficulty he was having tracking Sesshoumaru and the female youkai.

Now, it was an hour to sundown, and he'd been wandering aimlessly for the entire afternoon. He figured he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of finding his way back to camp before he went completely human, but he would try his damnedest. There was no way he wanted to get caught in this unfamiliar forest in his brother's lands alone and human. And virtually unarmed. Of course he had Tetsusaiga, but the blade wouldn't transform for him while he had no demon blood.

Trying to backtrack by scent alone turned out to be an exercise in futility as his normally extremely sensitive nose picked up fewer and fewer scents. He began swearing at himself for being so stupid by being out for so long.

He was still cursing himself an hour after nightfall, when he fell through the forest floor into what appeared to be a demon's nest.

:o:o:o:o:o:

Hoshi stopped suddenly when her ears picked up a noise that almost sounded like a scream. A moment later her nose caught the faint scent of a human's extreme surprise and a hint of fear.

"Someone's in trouble," she stated when she noticed Sesshoumaru had stopped as well and was now looking at her with a slightly annoyed expression.

Sesshoumaru looked at her curiously. "Your point is...?" he asked in his usual cold, unemotional tone.

The woman gave him a disgusted glance and very clearly said, "I'm going to help."

"It's probably just some stupid human who was wandering around in the forest after dark. They really should know better by now. This forest is full of youkai, all hungry for human flesh."

"I'm still going," she said stubbornly, then turned in the direction the scream had come from and was gone before Sesshoumaru could react.


	6. Chapter 5: And what have you done with S...

Fallen Star  
by Jessa

Chapter 5: ...And what have you done with Sesshoumaru?

"Baka!" Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath. _She's going to get herself killed_, he thought. Then, _What does it matter? It's not like she's of any importance to me._

He felt a tug on his pants and looked down.

"Rin wants to know where Hoshi-neechan is going," the little girl asked.

"She's going elsewhere."

"Elsewhere? Rin wants to go, too. Onegai, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He was going to say no, but caught a glimpse of the child's face.

She'd hit his weak spot. Puppy-dog eyes. Just as Inuyasha would do anything to stop a girl from crying, Sesshoumaru could not resist the puppy-dog-eye stare. Especially from Rin.

The little girl's huge brown eyes bored into Sesshoumaru's golden ones, begging him to take her to Hoshi. "We will find her," he said with a sigh.

"Arigatou, Sesshoumaru-sama!" the child cried excitedly. "Arigatou! Arigatou! Arigatou!"

:o:o:o:o:o:

Inuyasha picked himself up off of the pile of half-rotted, half-eaten carcasses he'd landed on. The hole he fell through was high above him, within jumping range of his hanyou muscles, but far out of his current range.

"Kuso!" he swore as he looked around the grotto. The rough rock walls were damp, and, here and there, trickles of water fell out of cracks in the walls. Patches of luminescent fungus dimly lit the area, giving off a sickly green glow, highlighting his dark hair.

A mound of fur drew his attention when it moved suddenly. A dozen pairs of blood-red eyes blinked out of the fur at him.

The mound began to squeak.

A few moments later, Inuyasha could make out the sounds of movement coming towards him fast. Within the next moment, he could see the source of the noise.

He was greeted by razor-sharp teeth tearing into his arm.

:o:o:o:o:o:

Hoshi practically flew through the forest, following the somewhat familiar human scent. She leapt over a hole in the ground just as an agonized wail rose from its depths. She sniffed the air as she landed, and her expression changed from intent to surprise.

_Fire-rats, here? This isn't their territory. They shouldn't be here. And Inu-baka, ningen? Now all I need is Sesshoumaru to follow me here and I'll _know_ I'm in someone's demented dream_. She mentally shrugged and leapt down the hole.

The first sight she was met with was a squirming pile of fur. The next was said pile of fur sorting itself out into at least twelve separate furballs and swarming toward her.

The third sight her eyes took in was a _very_ angry female fire-rat youkai mauling a weakly-struggling, very human, Inuyasha.

"How _do_ you get yourself into these messes, Inu-baka?" Hoshi asked. The sound of her voice pulled the mother rat's attention from the hanyou. (er, human?)

"Leave, now, and you won't die," it grated out, just barely understandable.

"Let the ningen go, and maybe I won't kill you," Hoshi returned.

"Iie. Cannot let ningen go. Was trying to hurt babies. Must suffer now. Suffer much pain. Die!"

"Have it your way." Hoshi set herself into the typical 'I'm gonna kick your ass' stance and readied herself to spring.

Her view of the fire-rat was suddenly obscured by a blur of white. A calm, cultured voice called out, "Take Inuyasha and get out. I will take care of this pitiful excuse for a youkai."

Hoshi pinched herself as she leapt over to Inuyasha. _Ouch! Okay, maybe this isn't someone's sick dream._ She carefully gathered him up and jumped out of the hole. She was met by an overly excited Rin.

"Hoshi-neechan!" the girl cried, running up to the woman.

An unearthly wail rose from the pit, as well as the sounds of thrashing, then Sesshoumaru came flying out of the youkai nest. He landed on his feet a few yards away from Hoshi, though it looked to her that he swayed a bit before completely regaining his balance. His usually pristine white kimono was ripped and stained with blood in places, and part of his bone armor was missing. Obviously the fire-rat had been an able opponent for the youkai lord.

"It is dead, and its young as well," the taiyoukai stated. His voice had a slight waver to it, as if he was hiding pain. "Is Inuyasha alive?"

"If his wounds aren't treated quickly, he won't be for long. I can bandage his cuts, but I believe he has some broken bones. And he's not breathing well, so I assume something's wrong with his lungs, too."

"His companions are not too far away. We should take him to them. I doubt they can help him, but perhaps they would like to try."

Hoshi looked at the youkai in front of her curiously. "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Sesshoumaru?"


	7. Chapter 6: Apologies and explanations

Fallen Star  
by Jessa

Chapter 6: Apologies and explanations.

Two hours after nightfall found the shard hunting group anxiously awaiting Inuyasha's return. Kagome was jumping up at every sound, convinced it was the hanyou, only to be disappointed every time.

Miroku was trying to get Kagome's mind off of her worries, but was failing miserably. Kirara paced back and forth between Sango, Kagome, and the edge of the clearing they'd set up camp in, still in her small, cute form.

A twig snapped in the forest. Kagome rushed toward the sound. "Inuyasha?" she called. The image that met her eyes was not one she ever would have imagined.

Inuyasha lay cradled in the arms of the female youkai who had tried to kill him two years before. On her right side, Sesshoumaru stood, looking injured and a little dazed. On her left, Rin bounced in place.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. "What did you do to him?" she demanded, glaring pointedly at the white-haired woman in front of her.

"Calm yourself, young one. I have done nothing but rescue him and bandage his wounds as best I can. But he has other injuries which I cannot tend. Sesshoumaru-sama suggested I bring Inuyasha to you, miko, to see if you could save him."

Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru suspiciously. "Who are you, and what have you done with Sesshoumaru?"

The female youkai laughed. "That is exactly what I asked him. He just muttered something about him being the one to kill Inuyasha, not some fire-rat youkai. I didn't quite catch it all." Hoshi moved closer to Kagome, who backed up a little. "I'm not going to kill you, miko." Kagome stopped backing up and Hoshi whispered, "Sesshoumaru-sama is injured as well, but I don't know how badly. The fire-rat youkai he fought was quite strong. He saved Inuyasha's life. And possibly mine, as well."

Kagome side-glanced at Sesshoumaru. Her earlier assessment of him seemed to be correct. She noted that most of his armor was gone and he seemed to be bleeding from a deep wound in his left shoulder.

They walked to the camp, Hoshi carrying Inuyasha's still form. When they stepped out of the trees, Sango and Miroku shot to their feet, weapons at the ready.

"Kagome-sama, get behind me!" Miroku shouted, ready to release his wind tunnel.

"No, Miroku-sama! Sango-chan! It's all right. Inuyasha needs help." Kagome jumped in front of the small group she was leading, spreading her arms wide to signify her protection.

Sango waited until Miroku lowered his hand, then warily lowered Hiraikotsu. Kagome ran to her overlarge yellow pack and pulled out a pot. "Sango, can you get some water boiling? Miroku, I'll need your help to move Inuyasha. Shippou, there's some cloth for bandages in my pack. Could you tear it into strips this wide?" She held her fingers about two inches apart.

"You," she said to the female youkai, "can put Inuyasha on my sleeping bag. Right over there."

Hoshi followed the young miko's gesture and laid her burden on a strange-looking futon while Kagome began fishing around in her pack again. After a couple of agonizingly slow, frustrating minutes, she cried out in triumph and pulled out a white box.

Kagome set about cleaning and bandaging Inuyasha's wounds. When she was done and satisfied that the hanyou would live, she picked up the white box and the small pile of bandages she had left and walked over to Sesshoumaru, who had taken a seat on the ground against a tree. He watched her carefully as she knelt on the grass next to him and growled when she tried to care for his wounds.

"I'm just trying to help!" Kagome said indignantly, still attempting to get the wet cloth she was using close enough to wash the blood away. "Hold still!"

Hoshi cut off Sesshoumaru's answering growl. "Sesshoumaru-sama, please. Act your age. Cooperate with Kagome-sama, or I'll make you wish you had."

The taiyoukai sniffed disdainfully, but complied, albeit grudgingly.

"I'm sorry," Hoshi said after a few moments of watching the girl attempt to work on the taiyoukai's injury.

"Sorry? No, it's all right. I need to learn how to do this anyway. So you don't have anything to be sorry for," Kagome said, concentrating on cleaning Sesshoumaru's injured shoulder through the large rip in his kimono.

"Not for this, Kagome-sama. For two years ago."

"Two years. . .?" Still concentrating.

"I did not want to kill the hanyou. I was honor-bound to do so, however. He killed the man who would've been my mate. For that, I could not forgive him." Hoshi had the miko's full attention now, and had a feeling that everyone else was listening closely as well. "I loved Akira dearly. And he loved me, too. That always amazed me; how he could love me so much and so easily when my kind ruthlessly slaughtered his. I didn't understand it then, and I still don't understand it now."

"You— you would've married a human?" Inuyasha's weak voice asked. "He would've died of old age before you knew it. So, why?"

"Because I loved him," Hoshi said simply. "You need to rest. You took quite a beating, Inu-baka. I'm surprised you're still alive, let alone conscious."

Inuyasha scowled at Hoshi from his prone position. "I ain't gettin' up, wench, so just leave me alone," he bit out. "Why would you mate a human who's just going to die a lot sooner than you will? Losing people hurts."

"I am very well aware of that, Inu-baka. But, and maybe you didn't know this, a mating between a human and a youkai can extend the human's life by far. It can also shorten the youkai's life. But, since very few youkai take humans as mate, this practice is not very well known. But even if it didn't work like that, I still would have chosen Akira."

"Youkai like you disgust me," Sesshoumaru spat. "Humans are weak. They are prey, not mates."

"So, father disgusts you, then?" Inuyasha asked in his typical 'badger-Sesshoumaru' tone of voice.

"And what of Rin-chan?" Hoshi asked quietly, watching the little girl chase fireflies at the other side of the small field. "If humans are prey, why is she still alive?" She sat _seiza_-style on Sesshoumaru's right side, opposite Kagome. "Here, let me help you, Kagome-sama."

Kagome sighed in relief and handed over the washcloth. "Arigatou gozaimasu, ah. . ."

"Hoshi," the golden-eyed woman responded. "I'm Hoshi of the Northern Lands." She looked down at the ground, giving the impression of guilt/shame or gathering courage.

"Ah. Arigatou gozaimasu, Hoshi-sama."

"Just Hoshi, onegai." Hoshi looked at Sesshoumaru. "Gomen, Sesshoumaru-sama, but in spite of the size of the rip in your kimono, your wound cannot be cleaned through it. Take it off."

"This Sesshoumaru does not require your help, traitorous wench." He looked away.

"Bad move," Hoshi said, an edge to her voice. Quicker than anyone could follow, her right hand flashed out and a resounding _smack!_ rang through the clearing.

* * *

Note: Currently, this is all I have written. It makes me kinda sad, but I'm not sure if I'll have time or opportunity to finish it with everything that's going on, so if anyone would like to take up the challenge and maybe write more for it, you have my permission. I would like to read it if you do, though.


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